Hildale Government Nominations and Retirements

Hildale has recently seen several city employees retire after the new city council members and Mayor took their positions in city government. Among those positions, are the City Recorder and City Treasurer, along with various other support positions. The hiring process requires a considerable degree of cooperation between both city governments due to an intergovernmental relationship that has evolved between the two cities. Many constituents who voted for the new council members and mayor for Hildale have long expressed concerns about nepotism in municipal government.

With the departure of high-level administrative positions, there was a need to fill the positions quickly and transparently. Mayor Donia Jessop organized hiring boards using a defined ranking criterion to narrow her nomination decisions to bring before the city council. The hiring board consisted of municipal officers from surrounding cities as well as current and former Hildale city officials.

In the February 13, 2018, council meeting, Mayor Donia brought a nomination before the council. Some council members had concerns about the hiring process. They requested more time to review the criteria used and an opportunity to contemplate the decision. They tabled the decision until February 15, 2018, to understand the process better.

After a lengthy executive session in the latter meeting, Mayor Donia put forth nominations for the positions of Treasurer and Recorder. Vinson Barlow was nominated to be the City Recorder. Mayor Donia cited his previous experience in various municipal capacities in the past. John Barlow was nominated to be the City Treasurer. Both nominees were confirmed by the council with Doran Jessop abstaining and Brian Jessop not present.

The nominees then came before the Colorado City Council for approval. The salaries for Hildale City employees are run through various Inter-Governmental Associations. As the cities have grown together, relying on much of the same infrastructure, they have worked very closely in nearly every aspect of governance.

Edit: A previous version of this article stated that Colorado City subsidizes the pay of Hildale Employees. That was inaccurate. They pay for services rendered by those employees.